I have purchased 2 droboFS’s each with a few TB of space in them one for my mother’s house for her file server and one for my house for my file server. I have created shares for each of us on each Drobo and have a full copy of each of our files on the respective shares.
What I would like to do now is setup a remote synchronization of the two units first setup locally and then extended to over the internet once the system is setup.
I was thinking about using rsync but I’m willing to do anything but would prefer to not use computers in the backup process if possible.
Rsync is the way to go. Just make sure you use SSH for the transport. In fact, the worst part of the rsync setup is making sure the routers are properly configured to allow port forwarding.
Well, it can happen if you are not careful with which options you chose when setting up rsync (in particular, be careful with the --delete stuff), but other than that, I’m pretty sure rsync is as bug-free as their software, if not more.
Hi Newhorizon,
I do this exact same thing with two drobos. You don’t need to use an intermediate computer, you can rsync from one machine to another.
Ricardo is right, rsync over SSH is the way to go. Here’s the steps you want to do.
Install OpenSSH (the real one, not the dropbear version).
1a. Set a STRONG root password (at least 128 bits of entropy). Remember, this server will now be facing the outside world.
Install Rsync.
Install screen (important!)
Write a script so that every time your drobo re-boots, the default password gets re-written with your strong one. Make sure your have you password written down, otherwise you’re boned.
Configure your router. I STRONGLY suggest that you don’t use the default port (22). Most routers will allow you to re-route a different port. IE, your external port can be 2345, the router will send all packets to port 22.
Repeat steps 1-5 on the second drobo.
(optional) set up some SSH-RSA keys between each of the drobos, so you can skip the passwords for rsyncing.
Okay, you’re all good to go. To go:
SSH into your local drobo.
Run screen.
Start your rsync backup. It should look something like this:
rsync -aviPh --progress --delete-after -e ‘ssh -p 2345’ --rsync-path=/mnt/Drobo-FS/Shares/DroboApps/rsync/rsync /mnt/Drobo-FS/Shares/Backup/ root@ssh.example.com:/mnt/Drobo-FS/Shares/Drobo2/Backup/
Detach your screen (ctrl-a d) (to get back into a detached session start screen with ‘screen -R -D’)
Exit out of your ssh session and sleep easy.
I hope this was of help to you. If you get stuck on any of these steps, please feel free to drop a line.
thanks for that I just have one more simple question. which file do you edit to modify the openssh password? Or do I have to install via with a bit of a dropbear switch like I have read elsewhere on these boards?
thanks… turns out I was just being stupid and not logging in with the User@ip and it was just grabbing my system user account and causing issues I think.
